1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fire escape particularly adapted for use in multi-storey buildings such as high-rise residential and commercial buildings.
2. Prior Art
It is well known that many high-rise commercial and residential buildings have poor or inadequate fire escape equipment. Many residential high-rise buildings are provided with balconies and, in a fire, one recommended procedure is for those persons who cannot evacuate the building easily to stand on the balcony until the fire is extinguished, or until they are evacuated by rescue equipment. Most commercial high-rise buildings are not provided with such balconies and, if such a building is on fire, common fire escapes would be used, such as interal or external stairs. It is well known that in a fire most internal staircases act as flues and commonly become smoke filled and hot and impossible to use for normal escapes. The problem of escape in commercial high-rise buildings is further compounded by the number of persons requiring to use the escaping devices. When compared with residential high-rise buildings, commercial buildings commonly have many more persons on the same floor area as a residential high-rise building. Thus, fire escape apparatus that might have sufficient capacity for a residential high-rise building is likely to have insufficient capacity for a commercial high-rise building of similar size.
Some known escape apparatus, particularly devices in which a person descends a rope hanging from the building, are often too difficult to operate for a frightened or a very old or a very young person. Further, this type of apparatus handles only a relatively small number of persons, and delays resulting from persons incapable of operating the apparatus further reduce capacity of such apparatus. This type of apparatus is often exposed to smoke, heat and flames which can render them inoperative in a short time.